Dubai: The UAE on Tuesday will continue to experience unstable weather conditions with downpours expected over the islands, coastal and northern areas due to an extension of a low pressure in Saudi Arabia. Forecasters, however, clarified no storm is coming to the UAE.

“Convective clouds coming from the west, particularly from central Saudi Arabia, is moving toward the UAE over the sea and moving toward the islands, the western part, the coastal areas of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and northern parts of UAE,” Dr Ahmad Habib from the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) told Gulf News.

“Convective clouds are associated with rainfall and strong wind at times so the sea will be rough at times and visibility will become poor due to blown dust and rain,” he added.

Weather at Dubai Design District.
Ahmed Ramzan

Offshore waves in the Arabian Gulf could reach between 4 feet and 6 feet, and even up to 8 feet. The Oman Sea, meanwhile, will have a maximum wave height offshore of 6 feet at times, and 3 to 5 feet in general.

Dr Habib, however, clarified that no “storm” is coming to the UAE as reported by a section of the local media, but the situation is just an extension of the low pressure affecting the Arabian Peninsula.

“These are convective clouds [associated with rainfall], not a storm. Storm is a big word for the situation,” Dr Habib said.

When asked if the situation would worsen similar to what happened to Kuwait, Dr Habib allayed fears and answered in the negative.

Heavy rains inundated major parts of Kuwait last week until the weekend, damaging roads, bridges and homes.

Arabia Gazelle seen at Al Qudra area in Dubai, during the sand storm.
Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

“The low pressure affecting the region is a big one. But the centre of this system is over the northern and eastern Saudi Arabia towards Jordan and Kuwait. But in our area, it is only an extension of the low pressure toward the east of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The strong impact is in that area and not in the UAE,” Dr Habib said.

Thundershowers hit Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah the night before, prompting police to send emergency alerts to the public to stay indoors and stay safe during “extreme weather”. Some events were cancelled and Dubai Fitness Challenge Fitness Villages were closed.

Ras Ghanadah, an island on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border, received the maximum recorded rainfall at 49.4mm. This is 20 times the average recorded rainfall for the month of November between 2003 to 2017 in the nearby area of Abu Dhabi Corniche based on NCM figures.

Thick clouds over Sharjah
Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News

Forecasters expect weather in the UAE to gradually stabilise by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Brigadier Abdullah Mubarak Bin Amer, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, held a coordination meeting with senior police officers in Sharjah to discuss their strategic plans to enhance public safety during the rainy season.

Brigadier Bin Amer said the police department has taken all the necessary measures to cope with any emergency during this period of unstable weather.

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